


Untroubled Hearts

by evanelric



Series: Shimadacest Week 2K17 [6]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Realization, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), Self Confidence, Shimadacest Week, Sibling Incest, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 12:04:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9234284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanelric/pseuds/evanelric
Summary: “The elders are opposed to my enrollment in the Master’s program.” The way Hanzo says it lends it more weight than the words themselves impart, and things begin to fall into place for Genji.That the elders aren’t pleased with Hanzo’s desire to go to grad school is something Genji had been aware of for some time. It was hard to miss with the number of terse video calls and sudden trips to Hanamura Hanzo had taken on so many weekends, but Genji had thought that it would be settled rather quickly once Hanzo actually had a few days straight to present his case without the burden of classwork weighing on him. Apparently they were being bigger dicks than usual.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For Day 6 of Shimadacest Week: Winter / Holidays

Genji digs his hands deeper into his pockets and wanders around the corner to slouch against a post. It’s cold this winter, and a healthy layer of snow covers the ground, but there’s a trail off the covered walkway that leads out to a large tamped down patch. In the center of this patch is Hanzo, his coat on the ground beside him and his hair pulled up into a high ponytail. From the number of arrows in the target and the well-defined trench between them and the clearing, it’s more than obvious that Hanzo has been out here too long. Genji’s sure the only reason he can’t see Hanzo shivering from here is his iron will, keeping him steady and his aim true as he fires arrow after arrow across the snow.

Genji graciously waits until Hanzo fires all the arrows that have been stuck in the snow in front of him, then slips off his own coat as he steps off the stones, knowing that even if Hanzo somehow missed his approach then the crunch of snow under his feet will draw his attention. By the time Genji reaches him Hanzo has lowered the bow and the shaking has set in, but it seems less to do with the temperature and more with his state of mind.

“Let’s get you inside, Hanzo, and then you can tell me what had you out here like this.”

Genji wraps both the jacket and his arms around Hanzo, pulling his brother back against his chest briefly, until he feels Hanzo’s cold fingers come up to hold the edges of the jacket closed. He snags Hanzo’s heavy winter jacket off the ground, shaking the snow off before his slings it over his shoulder. He wraps an arm around Hanzo’s shoulders, mindful of the bow still in Hanzo’s grip, as he guides them back along the path.

Shimada Castle is, as always, beautiful, and the cherry trees are dripping with blossoms despite the weather. The light reflects off the snow around and through the trees, tinting the air an ethereal pink until Genji slides the door shut behind them and the artificial lights lend everything a warm yellow glow. He bends down to untie his boots and tugs Hanzo’s laces loose as well, then rises and steadies his brother while they toe off their shoes and step into slippers to keep their feet insulated from the chilly wooden floors.

A handful of servants bow out of their way as they pass, and Genji asks one to bring hot tea to their rooms. Hanzo is still pale, with bright blooms of color high on his cheeks and over his ears from the weather, and his hands are white-knuckled where they grip the coat and the bow.

When they reach their shared sitting room Genji drops Hanzo’s coat across a chair, then gently rubs Hanzo’s fingers and prises the bow from his grip, resting it on a table for Hanzo to take care of later. His own coat is unwrapped from Hanzo’s frame and draped over the chair as well. Genji uses a hand splayed across the expanse of Hanzo’s lower back to usher his brother into his room, where a space heater has been chugging along steadily to chase away the winter chill.

There are many things Genji prefers about their apartment in Tokyo over the Hanamura estate, and central heating is quickly becoming second on that list. First is, and will continue to be, how stressed being in Shimada Castle is making Hanzo. Not only is he more relaxed in general in Tokyo, but when things begin to overwhelm him Genji is able to step in as quickly and aggressively as he deems necessary.

Here, though, Hanzo has to be the heir, and watching him try to slip back into the role is making Genji itch to bundle him up and carry him back to Tokyo. Genji knows, though, that Hanzo is doing this as much out of duty as out of an actual desire to one day lead the Shimada clan, and that he would resent any actual interference.

Instead, Genji has done what he can in small ways. Staying out of trouble as much as possible, tidying up both their rooms beyond what the maids do, and avoiding the elders, but sticking around the compound in case he’s needed. He feels powerless to do anything actually helpful and it’s been making him irritable and twitchy. Despite his own feelings, though, he thought Hanzo had been handling it all better, up until this.

Hanzo has always been prone to going off by himself for hours and doing whatever he felt necessary to bring himself back to center. Before, Genji had always just noted the absence, and gone back to whatever his plans were, if he was even in the castle to witness them in the first place, that is. While Genji understands the need to vent, he now also has a vested interest in Hanzo’s well-being, both physically and mentally, which is why he’s stripping Hanzo out of his damp pants and chivvying him into a pair of his own fleece pajama bottoms.

A soft knock on the door announces the arrival of a tea set, and Genji makes sure to get Hanzo bundled in a blanket and seated on the bed before he goes to retrieve it. Genji sets the tray down and pours a cup of tea for Hanzo. He makes sure he drinks it, then pours another for Hanzo to warm his hands around before he slips under the blanket behind Hanzo and wraps him in his arms.

He presses a kiss just behind Hanzo’s ear, then rests his cheek against it, letting the cold seep into his cheek. Hanzo manages a sip of tea of his own volition by the time Genji nuzzles his way around to give his other ear the same treatment. Two more drinks of tea see that ear warm, then Genji pulls the tie out of Hanzo’s hair. He finger combs it out and braids it, fixing the tie back on the end once he’s done. He lays his head on Hanzo’s shoulder, pressing his nose into his brother’s neck until Hanzo finishes the cup and his spine slowly relaxes, his body molding into Genji’s.

Genji holds him tighter and presses his lips to Hanzo’s neck before he takes the cup and leans over to set it on the headboard. Then he pulls Hanzo with him to lay on their sides, tugging the blankets to better cover his brother. He takes it as a good sign when Hanzo takes it upon himself to roll over and press his face into Genji’s chest, weaving his hand over his brother’s waist and up the back of his shirt. Thankfully the tea has done its job and Hanzo’s hand is barely colder than Genji’s skin, but even so, Genji wouldn’t begrudge Hanzo the contact. He throws a leg over Hanzo’s hip and pulls him in with an arm around his back, doing his best to make Hanzo feel grounded in his presence.

“Ready to talk yet?”

Hanzo’s hand twitches, the slightest increase in pressure against Genji’s shoulder blade, and he rolls onto his back before letting out a gusty sigh. Genji pulls him close again, tangling his hand with one of Hanzo’s, allowing his brother to absently toy with his fingers until he finds the words he wants.

He sinks into the warmth and the sound of their breathing, happy to be able to just have Hanzo close like this for the first time in too many days. Having to go from sharing a bed almost every night for months to not even being able to hold Hanzo’s hand has worn on Genji more than he’d realized. Eventually, though, Hanzo laces their fingers together and speaks.

“The elders are opposed to my enrollment in the Master’s program.” The way Hanzo says it lends it more weight than the words themselves impart, and things begin to fall into place for Genji. Hanzo is diligent in everything he does because it’s in his nature, but he’s also passionate about his schoolwork, and sincere in his desire to one day be a good leader.

Genji had sat up with Hanzo while he was preparing his applications for grad school, pulled him away from his laptop when he stressed over his recommendations, his thesis, his essays, and his regular course work on top of that. A band of silver in a velvet lined box back in their apartment is testament to how stressful things have been for Hanzo, and how much Genji has done to take care of him. 

That the elders aren’t pleased with Hanzo’s desire to go to grad school is something Genji had been aware of for some time. It was hard to miss with the number of terse video calls and sudden trips to Hanamura Hanzo had taken on so many weekends, but Genji had thought that it would be settled rather quickly once Hanzo actually had a few days straight to present his case without the burden of classwork weighing on him. Apparently they were being bigger dicks than usual.

“Alright, then. What do our illustrious elders have to say about this? Assuming they have something better than ‘because we’re stodgy old assholes who hate everything.’”

Hanzo huffs out a laugh, which makes something warm and pleased flutter through Genji’s chest. “They say it would be more useful for me to come home and learn how the clan works from the inside rather than wasting it on more schooling.”

“And what does chichiue think?”

“He’s been remarkably silent, for once.” Hanzo’s voice is bleeding through with petulance that Genji is still just getting used to hearing after years of feigned stoicism and superiority. He shelves his feelings of adoration for later, focusing instead on the crux of the problem.

“So they’re basically being old-fashioned fucks, like I said.” Hanzo shoves him lightly using their clasped hands, but draws them back to lay on his stomach, and Genji snickers into his hair before brushing a kiss across his temple. “No, seriously! They want you home because it’s the way things have always been, but they don’t have any real reason for it. I looked at it with you, and it looks like shit that’ll really help when you start getting into the business side of things with chichiue, but even if you were just going because you wanted to I’d still think it would be a good idea.”

It’s likely nothing Hanzo hasn’t already told himself, and the elders, and their father, a thousand times in a thousand ways, but it’s still true. From the way Hanzo continues to lay there, unmoved and unmoving but for his breath gradually shifting their linked hands up and down, it’s about as helpful as Genji had thought it would be. He sighs and tries a different tack. They’ve always seen the elders differently, but it hasn’t really hit home for Genji how differently until this semester.

“Okay. The elders are there to preserve tradition, right? To make sure we don’t do anything to besmirch the noble name of the Shimada clan?” Hanzo nods, clearly unsure where Genji is going with this. “So if your only goal is to preserve tradition, you’re naturally gonna be averse to anything modern, even if it’s an improvement over the way things have been done for however long.”

“Yes, but that’s not-”

“I’m not done.” Genji doesn’t have to raise his voice to cut through Hanzo’s interjection. It’s another thing he’s not quite used to, and it sends a little thrill up his spine.

“Look at what they consider _honoring traditions_ , Hanzo. We can’t have indoor heating because the estate is ‘historic’ even though unintrusive methods were invented decades ago, yet they make mutant sakura so we can have the blossoms year-round. The thing most revered for reminding us of the ephemeral nature of beauty and life itself, and they pervert it into something that blooms _constantly_. They aren’t in it for the tradition. They’re in it to keep themselves looking good.”

Hanzo stills suddenly, even his breathing shallow enough as to be unnoticeable. Genji can feel his pulse racing, though, and his expression is wide-eyed in shock.

On the one hand, Genji is a little surprised this is such a revelation for Hanzo. On the other, he’s disappointed in himself for not realizing sooner that Hanzo’s respect for them was based on his assumption that they actually had the clan’s best interest at heart. Hanzo had never come into much conflict with the elders, and not had as much reason to question their motivations as Genji did, and for all that he was a troublemaker, he still learned all the same lessons Hanzo did. He only let people think he was stupid and lazy because it was easier.

He watches Hanzo turn this new perspective over in his head, weighing all his interactions with and knowledge of the elders against in within a short span of seconds, and his eyes fall shut as he realizes that Genji is absolutely right. He just hadn’t had a reason to notice it before.

He rolls back into Genji, letting his hand go to pull him into a tight hug. Genji wraps his arms around Hanzo as well, tugging him in with all his limbs and rolling onto his back with Hanzo on top of him. Hanzo lifts himself up just enough to smile at Genji, the small, true one he only gives when he’s deeply touched, and frames Genji’s face with his hands.

“Thank you, anjia.” He presses his lips to Genji’s, then runs his tongue along Genji’s bottom lip, not asking for entrance, but for Genji to take the lead. And for the first time all break, they manage to relax.

###

Hanzo ties his hair up the next morning, savoring the pull of his muscles and the way his clothing rubs against the marks Genji left on him the night before. Nothing visible, but he knows they’re there, and they serve as a tangible reminder of Genji’s belief in him, which provides the extra bolster he needs to go face the elders for the last time over his plans for the next two years.

He makes his way to the anteroom of the formal meeting chamber later than usual to find his father waiting for him. Normally Hanzo would be the first to arrive, and the elders would wander in after. Usually on time, but the last few days a handful of them had been pointedly late to the meeting as a deliberate slight to Hanzo and his case. As Hanzo steps up to meet his father he feels stronger than he has since the first time he presented his idea back in October.

“Chichiue.” The bow he gives his father is shallow. Not so shallow as to be impudent, but not as low as he would have given were he trying to win his father over as he has been since he realized he was truly not taking side in the debate between his oldest son and the clan elders. The nod Hanzo receives in return seems to be one of approval, and he leads them into the room.

Everyone turns toward them immediately as they enter, and all of them look unamused, but Hanzo takes his seat as he has every time he has entered this room, unperturbed by their expressions.

Inoue-san, the eldest of the elders, and Hanzo’s great-grandmother’s brother, speaks first.

“I think we have heard enough of this. Unless you have anything new to add, I think the council has made its opinion clear.”

Hanzo raises his chin and speaks clearly.

“Honored elders, I thank you for your consideration and for your opinion on this matter. However, as the future kumicho of the Shimada Clan I have concluded that the wisest course of action for the clan is for me to continue my studies at Tokyo University and complete a Master’s degree in Economics.”

The room breaks out into indignant splutters and outraged cries, but Hanzo merely stands and bows before backing out of the room. He takes a moment in the hall to breathe in and savor his victory, only distantly surprised when his father falls into step beside him. As Hanzo had suspected, his father is grinning slightly, and the mischievous twist to his lips reminds that their often stern father is also related to Genji. They walk down the hallway in silence until the corridor forks to go to Hanzo and Genji’s rooms in one direction and their father’s in the other, at which point the kumicho stops with an evaluating look at Hanzo.

“It took me until I was much older to learn that the elders are not always right. I was lucky enough to be gifted with you and your brother out of the things I let them lead me into, but it pleases me to see you coming into your own already. I look forward to seeing where my sons lead the clan.” With that he turns and continues his stately pace down the hallway, leaving Hanzo staring after him in shock.

It takes all he has not to skip down the hallway like a child from the joy in his heart, but it’s still not enough to keep him from tackling Genji to the floor in a kiss when he reaches his room.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from a poem by Ariwara no Narihira
> 
> _If there were no such thing_   
>  _as cherry blossoms_   
>  _in this world,_   
>  _in springtime how untroubled_   
>  _our hearts would be!_
> 
> Translation from "From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry" translated and edited by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson, from the 1986 Columbia University Press Morningside Edition, p108


End file.
